UPDATE 1-S.Korea's state health insurer tobacco firms for damages
April 14, 2014 at 06:32 AM EDT
SEOUL, April 14 (Reuters) - South Korea's state health insurer is seeking an initial 53.7 billion won ($51.9 million) from three tobacco companies, including the local units of Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco , to offset treatment costs for diseases linked to smoking.